BUSINESS OF GREED –
March 30, 2021 – Prosecutors say more than $350,000 in suspected kickbacks were paid to Moore by the sober living home operators. The money was “covered up by bogus contracts for ‘marketing’ services,” according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
The sober living homes were able to submit claims to health insurers tied to the new patients Moore is accused of bringing them, prosecutors allege. In one recorded conversation cited in court filings, Moore and a sober living home employee reportedly discussed the cash value of the “clients” Moore had allegedly helped place in the facility.
Prosecutors also cited text messages between patients and Moore in which they reportedly asked for money and to be placed in treatment. Prosecutors allege Moore responded by telling them he would only talk through Signal, an encrypted phone app.
Federal investigators in court filings say that such schemes – known as “patient brokering” – result in substance abusers who have no intention of actually stopping using drugs getting money from insurers to participate in treatment programs.
Brokers are generally paid per patient based on the anticipated reimbursement rate from a patient’s insurance policy, investigators wrote. The brokers often promise patients anywhere from a few hundred to a few thousand dollars, depending on their insurance benefits and how long they are expected to stay, investigators added.
